Tennessee's Defense was no match for swift WR Harvin
It's hard to imagine the Minnesota Vikings having a worse season than
they did last year, being fourth in their division and going 3-13,
despite prospective runningback Adrian Peterson. However, it seems that
the Vikings will prove themselves this season, already sporting a 4-1
record, 3-0 at home with impressive wins over the San Francisco 49ers
and Jacksonville.
ESPN projects them still at fourth, but with a better record at 5-11.
It's obvious though, with a schedule including again the Detroit Lions
and the Chicago Bears, that the Vikings will probably post higher than a
5-11, easily allowing them to take higher than fourth for the first
time since 2009.
Christian Ponder is another huge variable in the Vikings' victory of the
NFC North. Bucky Brooks stated, "...but Christian Ponder’s development
will ultimately determine if Minnesota has closed the gap on its
division rivals." This puts a huge strain on the young QB to improve
from previous seasons. The lack of improved defense could hurt them in
the long run as well, despite an upgrade with left tackle, Matt Kalil.
They may not be the best team in the North, but what the Vikings lack in
passing, they sure make up for in rushing. Posting impressive stats
like 133.2 rushing yards, and Peterson posting 102 yards in one game,
the Vikings may be a force to be reckoned with this NFL season.
Yesterday, Baseball opened the National League's playoffs with the first
game of five between the Cincinnati Reds and the San Francisco Giants.
Although the Reds were projected very well this season, the Giants were
still the favorites, reaping the home team advantage. However, the
outcome of the game was seen early in the third inning, when Cincinnati
scored two runs off of Brandon Phillips' homer. But you don't want to
listen to me, here's the box score.
Bottom line, Cincinnati's win was surprising. ESPN may have had a few more points invested in Cincinnati
winning this game, but the popular opinion easily sided with the
Giants. This is the first post season game the Reds have won in 17
years, but through the work of Brandon Phillips, Jay Bruce, and Dusty
Baker behind the bench, it looks as if the Reds can take this series in
three. Their early loss of Johnny Cueto didn't seem to hinder their 5-2
victory at all, and with a great pitcher like Mat Latos, it doesn't seem
that he will be depended on for the series.
However, the series is fresh, and the Giants could come back for a
victory. It's obvious it will not be a sweep, but Buster Posey is
definitely asserting himself as a Rookie of the Year, with his home run
in the sixth. Other than Posey, however, the Giants were rather sub par.
Cain and Mota sported a few too many wild pitches, and missed the
target completely, causing catcher Posey to miss the ball, and allowing
some gained bases by the Reds.
Overall, it was a great first game, with no definite series winner. The
Reds had this game in the bag, but if there is anything history says
about the Giants, it's that they won't give up this series that easily. A
few tweaks with pitching, and they should be able to at least defend
against the Reds impressive line up.
Yesterday, the 12th day of the lockout, the NHL cancelled its entire
preseason in a move that has left a great many Canadian-Americans very
sad. (See left)
Basically, everything is falling apart. But, today the League subsequently announced that their labor talks will resume in New York giving everyone false hope.
Now, I don't like to be cynical. I'd love to see this article and
believe that these will be the talks to end the lockout, but it's just
not true. First of all, these talks aren't even about the main issue.
Instead, they are debating on how to split the $3 billion annual
revenue, according to ESPN. Secondly, many big names have given up hope
and joined the sister European leagues, thus causing many fans to give
up hope. I mean, I don't know about the rest of you, but I've already
got my KHL streams and my SM Liiga subscription.
While it is true that the regular season has not been touched, and is
still scheduled for October 11, the league's subsequent actions are
sending a very clear message: there will be no NHL hockey this year.
So by now, word has spread violently about the call that lost Green Bay
their game Monday against the Seattle Seahawks. (Although whether that
call alone lost them the game remains to be debated).
And if by some chance you haven't, well, here:
Basically in laymen's terms, Russell Wilson heaved a 24-yard pass into a scrum in the end zone
with Seattle trailing 12-7. Tate shoved away a defender illegally using both hands,
and the NFL acknowledged Tuesday he should have been penalized, which
would have clinched a Packers victory. But as we all know, that cannot be reviewed by
instant replay.
Tate and Green Bay safety
M.D. Jennings then both got their hands on the ball, though the Packers
insisted Jennings had clear possession for a game-ending interception.
Instead, the officials ruled on the field that the players had simultaneous
possession, which counts as a reception. Once that happened, the NFL
said, the referee was correct that no indisputable visual evidence
existed on review to overturn the touchdown call.
Now, it hasn't been the greatest NFL season off the field. Goodell lost
the lawsuit against the Saints, the referees are still on strike, and
Peyton Manning is a Bronco. But I don't think anyone believed the
referee drama would go this far. Regardless of how Green Bay should've
wrapped up the game in the first quarter, the call was still bunk, and
the league backing it just showed their weaknesses after losing the
lawsuit earlier in the month.
I don't think anyone has to argue that the call was sound. I don't even
think the league really believes it was sound, but if they denied the
replacement refs that were put in to replace the referees the league is
feuding with, they would look even weaker. The players already have one
foot over the power of the league and the last thing they wanted (or
needed) was for the referees to have it as well. The unfortunate side to
this is that the call was made, and is backed by the league, so there's
not much Aaron Rogers can do to defend himself. The only thing left for
NFL fans to do is hope and pray that the reign of these referees is
soon over.
Regardless, the nitty gritty of the Lockout goes something like this:
Bettman: It's my money and I need it now! Owners: It's OUR money and WE want it now! Players: I like money. I like hockey too... decisions. Owners: They are deceiving and disobeying us! Lockout for reasons!
Then lockout occurs. It is super effective at crushing hearts and souls across Canada and America.
One solution was Greg Wyshynski's suggestion that hockey fans across both countries have a movement in the way of "Occupy the NHL Store"
which not only pokes fun at the capitalism of the thing, but also would
be a pretty prevalent place in New York in which to draw some serious
media attention. I think it's a good idea.
(You read nothing, I am not supporting this in any way that would later result in me not being hired by any sports network.)
If you want more information, any ESPN
story lays it out pretty well. These deadlines are not being met and
for some reason, no one can play nice and compromise. All of those
lessons in Kindergarten about sharing were complete crap. If you complain about money, you get it, no matter who suffers. Real world lessons here guys.
So whether you are a casual fan, or you bleed your teams' colors, this
is going to hurt you one way or another. So please excuse me while I sob
quietly in the corner into my Zach Parise jersey. By the way, the Wild
aren't winning the Stanley Cup this year. I bet they don't even make it
to the playoffs. But that's another story entirely.
